A little perspective on Scott Walker's tax cuts

Whoever the "critics" are mentioned in this State Journal article, they've got it right:

Even though most of his measures have received some support from Democrats, critics argue they are largely symbolic and will do little to actually create jobs or improve the state's economy.

,br> They also said the tax bill, which would give businesses deductions worth $92 to $316 per job, wouldn't be enough by itself to get businesses to hire more people.

First off, the credit only applies to businesses that add 15 jobs in a year. What does Scott Walker have against small business? Nothing, but he knows that a credit that rewards them would cost the state a fortune, especially since the state is going to be adding jobs this year, regardless of public policy. The economy is recovering, albeit slowly.

$316. Let's put that into the most generous perspective possible. A minimum wage worker in Wisconsin makes $290 a week, or $15,080 a year. If the government offers an employer a tax break equal to 5.5 days of salary, is that employer going to hire a full-time employee for a year? Of course, an employer would definitely get far less than $316 for a minimum wage worker, since the tax credit is based on taxes withheld from payroll.

When you raise the stakes from creating jobs to creating good-paying jobs the legislation's futility becomes even more apparent. How many employers are going to be enticed to create 15 jobs with good salaries and benefits because of a $300 tax credit?

None.

Most of the jobs that will be created over the next year will have nothing to do with this job credit, and most businesses that create jobs will not be eligible to benefit from it anyway. Republicans know this, which is why they made the bill just expensive enough to state government to annoy Democrats but cheap enough to avoid gravely exacerbating the already herculean headache that balancing the state budget will prove to be.

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